The technology explosion in the implantable medical devices industry has resulted in many new and innovative devices and methods for analyzing and improving the health of a patient. The class of implantable medical devices now includes pacemakers, cardioverters, defibrillators, neural stimulators, and drug administering devices, among others. Often these devices are operatively coupled with electrodes, many of which are mounted on elongate lead bodies carrying conductors, which couple the electrodes to the devices.
Patients, in which such leads are implanted, may be exposed to a substantial amount of radio frequency (RF) energy, for example when subject to MRI scans or radio diathermy processes. The lead generally acts as an antenna during exposure to radio frequency signals, thus, in the presence of these signals, an appreciable amount of current may be generated in a lead resulting in a high current concentration at a surface of a tissue-contacting electrode. Much of this current, which is converted to heat, due to the energy loss caused by a resistance of the electrode-to-tissue interface, may result in tissue damage in proximity to the electrode.